Clock in the Bastille fortress, Paris, circa 1775

A beautiful and rare clock depicting the royal fortress of the Bastille on a black-stained wooden mound flanked by a cannon with a soldier on guard before the drawbridge.
The crenellated towers of the fortress support the movement; it is surmounted by a military trophy composed of flags, a helmet, and crossed swords.
The silk-thread movement has a date display, indicating the hours, minutes, and day of the month.

It is signed "St Preüil à Paris"* on the dial and on the backplate.

In perfect working order, original movement serviced by our watchmaker.

Fine quality of chasing and original mercury gilding.

Parisian work from the Louis XV period, circa 1770-1775.

Dimensions:

Height: 35 cm; Width: 22 cm; Depth: 15 cm

*François Sauvage de Saint Preüil was a Parisian clockmaker who became a master in 1764; he worked on Rue du Marché Neuf until his death in 1789.

Our opinion:

Our clock does not date from the Revolutionary period, as one might initially think; on the contrary, it is a true allegory of royal power. It depicts a soldier protecting the Bastille fortress, which served as a state prison and arms depot at the end of the Ancien Régime.
The clockmaker's date of death (1789), the hands and dial with Arabic numerals, as well as the soldier's uniform and tricorn hat, confirm this dating to the end of Louis XV's reign.

This model is extremely rare. It was probably produced in very small numbers, and a large number of these pieces likely disappeared or were destroyed during the Revolution.

One can imagine that the patron belonged to a military elite still active at the end of the reign of Louis XV, sensitive to this type of symbolic representation of royal authority.